Takeshi Obata

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Takeshi Obata

Born February 11, 1969 (age 48)

Niigata, Niigata, Japan

Nationality Japanese

Area(s) Manga artist, illustrator

Notable works Hikaru no Go, Death Note, Bakuman.

Collaborators Yumi Hotta, Tsugumi Ohba

Awards Tezuka Award (1989), Shogakukan Manga

Award(1999), Tezuka Osamu Cultural

Prize (2003)

Takeshi Obata ( Obata Takeshi, born February 11, 1969) is a Japanese manga
artist that usually works as the illustrator in collaboration with a writer. He first gained
international attention for Hikaru no Go (19982003) with Yumi Hotta, but is better known
for Death Note (20032006) and Bakuman. (20082012) with Tsugumi Ohba. Obata has
mentored several well-known manga artists, including Nobuhiro Watsuki of Rurouni
Kenshin fame, Black Cat creator Kentaro Yabuki, and Eyeshield 21 artist Yusuke Murata.

Contents
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1Career
2Personal life
3Works
4Awards and nominations
5References
6External links

Career[edit]
Takeshi Obata chose to be a manga artist because he always loved drawing. As a child he re-
read Shotaro Ishinomori's Cyborg 009 over and over.[1] He originally became noticed in 1985
when he took a prize in the Tezuka Award for his one shot 500 Knen no Shinwa.[2] Joining
the Weekly Shnen Jump staff, he mentored under Makoto Niwano before starting his first major
series, writing and drawing Cyborg Jii-chan G in 1989. After this series, Obata began
collaborating with other writers.
Karakurizshi Ayatsuri Sakon, with author Sharakumaro, became his first work to be adapted
into an anime. He then created Hikaru no Go with Yumi Hotta, which received the Shogakukan
Manga Award in 1999[3] and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2003. With 25 million collected
volumes in circulation,[4] it was adapted into an anime and became his first work to be released in
North America.
In 2003 he teamed up with Tsugumi Ohba to create Death Note. It became his biggest hit to
date, with 30 million copies in circulation,[5] an anime adaptation, five live-action films, two live-
action TV drama and a musical. Obata served as the artist of Blue Dragon Ral Grad, a manga
adaptation of the fantasy video game Blue Dragon, from December 2006 to July 2007.
In the fall of 2007, he drew the short story "Hello Baby" with writer Masanori Morita, which
appeared in Jump Square.[6] This was followed a year later by "Urboe Uroboros!" with Nisio Isin,
who authored the Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases novel.[7]
He then reunited with Tsugumi Ohba for Bakuman., which ran from August 2008 to April 2012. It
was Shueisha's first manga to be released online in multiple languages before becoming
available in print outside Japan and had over 15 million copies in publication as of May
2014.[8][9] In 2014, he drew a manga adaptation of All You Need Is Kill with Rysuke Takeuchi,
basing the character designs on Yoshitoshi ABe's original cover to the novel.[10] He reunited with
Nisio Isin for the one-shot "RKD-EK9", that ran in the December 2014 issue of Jump SQ..[11]
Obata followed this by working with Nobuaki Enoki to relaunch Enoki's Gakkyu Hotei: School
Judgement digital one-shot as a serial in the first issue of Weekly Shnen Jump for
2015.[12] However, the magazine stopped publishing it after the year's 24th issue and the series
finished in the digital Shnen Jump+ on May 27.[13][14] It was serialized in English in the
digital Weekly Shonen Jump.[15]
He began another series with Ohba called Platinum End in the December 2015 issue of Jump
SQ on November 4, 2015.[16]
In addition to his manga work, Obata has also done character design work for the video
game Castlevania Judgment,[17] as well as illustrating several light novels. He provided character
designs for Madhouse's anime adaptations of Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human and Natsume
Sseki's Kokoro, which are parts of the Aoi Bungaku series.[18] He also designed a
new CGI character for the 2016 Death Note: Light Up the New World live-action film.[19]

Personal life[edit]
On September 6, 2006, Obata was arrested for illegal possession of an 8.6 cm knife when he
was pulled over in Musashino, Tokyo for driving with his car's headlights off at 12:30am. The
artist claimed he keeps the knife in his car for when he goes camping.[20][21]

Works[edit]
"500 Knen no Shinwa" (500) (1985)
Cyborg Jii-chan G (CYBORGG) (1989)
Arabian Lamp Lamp (()) with Susumu Sendo (1991
1992)
Chikarabito Densetsu -Oni o Tsugu Mono- ( --) with Masaru Miyazaki
(19921993)
Karakurizshi Ayatsuri Sakon (()) with Sharakumaro (1995
1996)
Hikaru no Go () with Yumi Hotta and supervised by Yukari Yoshihara (5-dan)
(19982003)
"Hajime" () with Otsuichi (2003)
Death Note with Tsugumi Ohba (20032006)
Blue Dragon Ral Grad (BLUE DRAGON ) with Tsuneo Takano (20062007)
 "Hello Baby" with Masanori Morita (2007)
"Uro-oboe Uroboros!" (!) with Nisio Isin (2008)
Bakuman. () with Tsugumi Ohba (20082012)
All You Need Is Kill with Rysuke Takeuchi (2014)
"RKD-EK9" with Nisio Isin (2014)
Gakkyu Hotei: School Judgement ( Gakky Htei, "School Investigation Court") with
Nobuaki Enoki (20142015)
Platinum End () with Tsugumi Ohba (2015present)

Awards and nominations[edit]

1985 Tezuka Award for "500 Knen no Shinwa"
2000 Shogakukan Manga Award for Hikaru no Go[3]
2003 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Creative Award for Hikaru no Go
2007 Nominated - Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Prize for Death Note[22]
2008 Nominated - Angoulme International Comics Festival Official Selection for Death
Note[23]
2008 Nominated - Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker for Death Note[24]
2008 Eagle Award for Favourite Manga for Death Note[25]
2010 Nominated - Manga Taish for Bakuman.[26]

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Interview - Takeshi Obata". Viz Media. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
2. Jump up^ (in Japanese). Retrieved March 1, 2008.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved August
19, 2007.
4. Jump up^ 8
. Mainichi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). May 16, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
5. Jump up^ DEATH NOTE . Mainichi Shimbun
Digital(in Japanese). April 20, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
6. Jump up^ "Eyeshield 21's Murata to Do 1-Shot Window Washer Manga". Anime News Network.
January 29, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
7. Jump up^ "Death Note Artist, Novelist Team Up on Urboe Uroboros". Anime News Network.
December 27, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
8. Jump up^ "Death Note Team's Bakuman Manga Posted in 4 Languages". Anime News Network.
August 19, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
9. Jump up^ "Kenshin's Takeru Satoh & Ryunosuke Kamiki Star in Live-Action Bakuman Film".
Anime News Network. May 6, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
10. Jump up^ "Death Note's Obata Adapts All You Need Is Kill Novel Into Manga". Anime News
Network. November 30, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
11. Jump up^ "Death Note's Obata, Monogatari's NisiOisin, Rosario + Vampire's Ikeda Make 2 One-
Shot Manga Together". Anime News Network. September 30, 2014. Retrieved October 1,2014.
12. Jump up^ "Death Note's Obata to Relaunch Gakky Htei Grade-School Legal Manga". Anime
News Network. November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
13. Jump up^ "Gakkyu Hotei, Cyborg Roggy Manga End in Shonen Jump on Monday". Anime News
Network. May 7, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
14. Jump up^ "Shonen Jump+ Publishes Final Chapter of Gakkyu Hotei Manga". Anime News
Network. May 28, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
15. Jump up^ "Gakkyu Hotei Joins Viz's Shonen Jump as Weekly Series". Anime News Network.
December 15, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
16. Jump up^ "Bakuman, Death Note Creators Launch Platinum End Manga". Anime News Network.
September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
17. Jump up^ "Death Note's Obata to Work on Next Castlevania Game". Anime News Network. July
2, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
 18. Jump up^ "Madhouse's Aoi Bungaku Posts Staff, Cast Lineup". Anime News Network.
September 22, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
19. Jump up^ "2016 Death Note Casts Miyuki Sawashiro as New Shinigami". Anime News Network.
September 12, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
20. Jump up^ "Death Note Author Arrested on Weapons Offence". Comipress. September 6, 2006.
Retrieved August 3, 2014.
21. Jump up^ "Death Note Creator Arrested for Possessing a Knife". Anime News Network.
September 7, 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
22. Jump up^ "11th Annual Tezuka Cultural Prize Winners Announced". Anime News Network.
December 27, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
23. Jump up^ "Manga Nominated for Awards at Angouleme Festival". Anime News Network. January
22, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
24. Jump up^ "Manga Listed Among Eisner Award Nominees for 2008". Anime News Network. April
14, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
25. Jump up^ "UK Fans Give Eagle Award to Death Note Manga". Anime News Network. May 14,
2008. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
26. Jump up^ "10 Titles Nominated for 3rd Manga Taisho Awards". Anime News Network. January
18, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2014.

External links[edit]
Takeshi Obata at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

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Death Note b